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Faced with all of the stresses that go along with an election year, State Senator Geraldine Thompson shook it all off for the occasion and took the stage Tuesday morning at Valencia College West Campus, in honor of National Constitution Day to speak on the importance of voting, equal rights, and of course, The Constitution of the United States.

Sen. Thompson spoke sincerely to a sparse crowd of mostly club officials and college representatives who were invited to the Student Government Association (SGA) sponsored event to learn more about the legislative branch of the Florida government and to meet a local representative.

“We have been on a journey to achieve a more perfect union,” says Thompson while explaining the importance that amendments play in keeping the US Constitution a living document, that continues to ensure that all men —and women, share in prosperity and equality for all time.

She went on to remind students of a time, even after the US Constitution had been drafted and ratified, that only allowed equal rights for some.

“I’d like you to think about what America looked like in 1778,” Sen. Thompson challenged. “African Americans were only considered 3/5 of a human and women were considered the property of a man.”

Even as the years pile and stack, the dark shadow of America’s intolerant past still trail closely behind, a vigilant reminder of the most barren outposts of the human condition. What can happen when the selfish needs of a few overpower the basic human necessities of the masses? How bad can things get?

You only need to look over your shoulder and take a long, fearful gaze into the ether to know how far we’ve come. It’s that gaze that guides us forward, into a time where no person will live at the expense of any other.

Two-hundred plus years later Sen. Thompson is still the African American female to represent Orlando in legislature.